Exercise Better Than Diet for Overweight
Teens

The best means to tackle obesity in young
people is to encourage them to exercise rather than go on a diet, say
researchers from Australia. This advice is based on a study of nearly
2,000 boys and girls 14- 15 years old conducted by Dr. George Patton and
his colleagues at the University of Melbourne and the Royal Children's
Hospital Research Institute. The results of their study is in this week's
British Medical Journal. Adolescent girls who strictly dieted were 18
times more likely to develop an eating disorder such as anorexia or bulimia
than girls who didn't diet. Additionally, girls who dieted moderately
were 5 times more at risk for an eating disorder than girls who didn't
diet. About two- thirds of new eating disorders arose in girls who dieted
moderately. Dieting was the most important predictor of new eating disorders.
The difference in the prevalence of disorders between boys and girls was
largely accounted for by the high rates of dieting at a younger age in
girls.

In adolescents, controlling weight by exercise
rather than diet restriction seems to lower the risk of developing an
eating disorder.

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